Check out Tesco Personal Banking’s new Edinburgh HQ

EDINBURGH’S recession hit financial district will get a shot in the arm tomorrow (wed) when a new banking HQ expected to house some 450 workers over the next 12-months is officially opened.

First Minister Alex Salmond is scheduled to perform the ceremony at the new Tesco Personal Finance offices in Haymarket.

He will be greeted there by Tesco PLC chief executive Sir Terry Leahy and Benny Higgins, chairman of Tesco Personal Finance.

With the controversial take-over of Halifax Bank of Scotland by Lloyds TSB and the Government bail-out of the Royal Bank of Scotland, both headquartered in Edinburgh, the sector has taken a battering in recent months.

Salmond is expected to use the launch as a platform to cement the city’s reputation as the UK’s second financial centre and welcome the Tesco investment as a sign of confidence.